International Chocolate Day 2016: Chocolate pine nut biscuits with a hint of chilli, recipe

If there are dog people and cat people – and you know who you are – then surely there must be biscuit people and cake people. Of course there are those who would gladly eat either a biscuit or cake but I think if given the choice most would gravitate to one or the other.

I am most resolutely on the biscuit side.

I realise a good deal of this is down to the fact that we never had cake in the house when I was growing up. My mother’s only foray into full-sized desserts was a cheesecake recipe that she’d whip up as a sign of condolence when a friend or neighbour died. There were a few times she made cheesecake and no one had died, but I imagine anyone who saw my Mom get out of the car, cheesecake in tow, did a quick head count to make sure no one had dropped off during the night.

But cookies were another matter. We had a ceramic cookie jar that was decorated with rather mad renditions of biscuits on the sides. It sat on the counter in the kitchen and if you were casual yet speedy, you could dash past the jar, lift the lid and snatch a couple of biscuits before any adult was the wiser.

And perhaps that’s part of the biscuit’s charm. It’s portable, hand held and happy to go from kitchen to desk without complaint. In only a few bites the evidence has been destroyed, leaving only a telltale crumb around the mouth or keyboard to give you away.

And biscuits aren’t a major life commitment. You bite, you chew and if it’s not your favourite no worries – there’s always the next one. But a slice of cake feels like getting engaged on the first date. When faced with a choice of cakes at a restaurant I’m a bit deer-in-the-headlights, worried that I’ll choose the ‘‘wrong’’ one and regret my decision from the first mouthful.

Cake? It’s wonderful. But me, I’m in the biscuit camp.

open image in gallery

When I say ‘‘hint’’ I mean hint. Before baking, you roll the balls of dough in a mixture of sugar, cinnamon and a bit of chilli so the flavour is quite subtle. Of course, much depends on how hot your chilli is – I used a mild one. If you want more of a chilli kick then you can also dip the unbaked balls in some chilli flakes (which I did for one dozen) or add a teaspoon or two of chilli powder into the batter. Don’t like chilli? Skip it altogether. I’ve also used pine nuts but you could use walnuts or pecans instead or leave the nuts out too.

Makes around 4 dozen cookies

Ingredients

300g plain flour
30g unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
225g unsalted butter, softened
225g cup caster sugar (200g for the batter and 25g for dusting the biscuits)
50g brown sugar
½ tsp vanilla
2 eggs
60g pine nuts
1 tsp cinnamon 
2 tsp chilli powder
Preheat oven to 150ºC 

In a bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a stand mixer (or you can use a hand mixer), cream the butter with 200g of the caster sugar and the brown sugar. Scrape down the sides of the bowl then add the vanilla and eggs and combine thoroughly. Gradually add the flour mixture at low-speed and mix only until just combined. Stir in the pine nuts.

open image in gallery

In a small bowl, combine the remaining 25g caster sugar, cinnamon and the chilli powder. Use a small ice cream scoop or a soup spoon to form the dough into balls. Roll the balls in the sugar/chilli mixture and place them on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. The cookies will spread so place the balls a bit apart.

Bake them for 8-10 minutes until done. The surface should be crisp – small cracks may form – with a soft interior. Remove from the oven and place the baking sheet on a wire rack. Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for a few minutes before removing them and setting them on the wire rack to finish cooling.